Illyasi case -- It's a tough post-mortem

Illyasi case -- It's a tough post-mortem
SREELATHA MENON

NEW DELHI, JAN 12: Forensic experts say it is very difficult to establish from the post-mortem examination of television producer Suhail Illyasi's wife Anju's body whether the wounds are self-inflicted or not.

The absence of incidental cuts is pointed out as the main hurdle in calling the case a suicide. But at the same time, the fact that the weapon was dealt through her naked skin rather than through her clothes favours the suicide theory, says A K Sharma of the Forensic Department of Safdarjung Hospital.

``In self-inflicted wounds, there are multiple hesitating cuts. These are the superficial cuts the person makes while summoning courage. These occur in the centre if the weapon is held with both hands and on the left if the weapon is held in the right hand. In the case of Anju, there is one deep cut which is 4 cm long and one shallow incision just two cm long which can be called hesitant, says Sharma. ``But with one hesitating cut, the doctors will naturally be reluctant to call it a suicide,'' he said.

Hesitating cuts need to be not only multiple but also parallel, he said. In the case of Anju, the two wounds on the left of the abdomen are parallel to each other and are an inch apart. Asked if pictures of the site of the death can make the doctors' task easy, Sharma expressed doubts. ``What can the pictures show? They are only buying time. Maybe with the passage of time, more clues will emerge to help them decide,'' he said.